Boat fender and a means and method for making the same



1937. R. J. omscou. ET AL 2,095,799

BOAT FENDER AND A MEANS AND METHOD FOR MAKING THE SAME Filed Nov. 27, 1934 a Sheets-Shet 1 Fil M INVENTORS M 'dff'iscoil @& in H. Dmscol Oct. 12, 1937. R. J. DRISCOLL ET AL 2,095,799

BOAT FENDER AND A MEANS AND METHOD FOR MAKING THE SAME Filed Nov. 27, 1934 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 4? x E i N i I v ll In-I." In

Oct. 12, 1937. R. J. omscou. ET AL 2,095,799

BOAT FENDER AND A MEANS AND METHOD FOR MAKING THE SAME Filed Nov. 27, 1934 .5 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTORS Richard jfirzscoll' BUD/1f? If. fiz'zi sco ll Patented Oct. 12, 1937 soar FENDER, AND A MEANS AND METHOD FOR MAKING TH SAME Richard J. Driscoll, White Plains, N. Y., and John H. Driscoll, Edgewater, N. J.

Application November 27, 1934, Serial No. 754,988

' '7 Claims. (01. 114-219) This invention relates to boat fenders, ring buoys and similar articles consisting of a jacket or covering filled with granulated material, such, for example, as ground cork, and to a means and method for making such articles of manufacture.

It is an object of the invention to provide an eff cient means and method of filling and packing a flexible container with filling material of granulated type.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an efiicient and economical method of making boat fenders and ring buoys.

It is a further object to provide an efiicient and dependable means for filling and packing the jackets of boat fenders, ring buoys and the like with granulated filling material.

It is a further objectto provide a dependable boat fender which is pleasing in appearance and devoid of unsightly and uneven stitching.

It is a further object to provide an improved metallic grommet for use in the manufacture of boat fenders and the like.

Referring to the drawings Figure 1 is a perspective view of the body of a jacket for a boat fender and showing the manner in which a strip of canvas or the like is sewed to form a cylindrical jacket for the body of the fender.

Fig. 2 is a perspective View of the same after it has been turned inside out.

Fig. 3 is a perspective View of the top covering of the boat fender.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the body jacket and the top covering of the fender and showing the manner in which the top coveringis sewed to the body jacket.

Fig. 5 is a perspective View of the bottom covering of the fender. 9

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the body jacket and bottom covering of the fender and showing the manner in which the bottom covering is sewed to thebody jacket. 9

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the bottom of the boat fender and a portion of the means for filling the fender with filling material.

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a completed boat fender turned upside down to show the bottom construction.

Fig. 9 is a perspective View of-the lower section of a metallicgrojmmet used in the bottom covering of the boat fender.

Fig, 10 is a perspective View of the intermediate section of the grommet.

Fig. 11 is a perspective view of the top section .Qff he romm Fig. 12 is a vertical section of a machine for filling and packing the fender with filling material such as granulated cork and showing the manner in which the machine feeds the filling material into the fendercasing.

Fig; 13 is a sectional View of a portion of the bit or screw which feeds the 'filling material into the fender, said View'being taken on the line l3l3 of Fig. 12.

Fig. 14 isa sectional view of the feed tube of the machine, taken on the line I l-14 of Fig. 12.

Fig. 15 is'a perspective View of the upper and lower coverings of a ring buoy after the coverings have been sewed together about their outer peripheries.

Fig. 16 is the same after the coverings have been turned inside out. 7

Fig. 17 is the same as Fig. 16 but showing the two coverings sewed together about their inner peripheries.

Fig. 18 is a perspective view of the completed jacket for the ring buoy and showing the manner in which the filling machine operates to fill the jacket with filling material.

j Fig- 19 is an enlarged sectional view of the ring buoy taken on the line l9--l9 of Fig. 17, 9 Fig. 20 is a top plan View of a completed ring buoy.

Referring to Fig. 8, the boat fender there shown consists of a body jacket I of canvas or the like, a

bottom covering 2, also of canvas or the like sewed to the body jacket I, and a top covering 3 (see Fig. 4) also of canvas or the like and sewed to the body jacket I. The top covering 3 is provided with a metallic grommet 4, and the bottom covering 2 is provided with a metallic grommet 5 through which a rope 6 passes. The rope 6 extends clear through the fender and is usually bent back upon itself, as shown at l in Fig. 8, the end of the rope being spliced to the body of the rope to form the loop-like portion i extending from the top of the fender. The fender is usually filled with some light weight granulated material, such as ground cork or sawdust.

Heretofore boat fenders have been made by first forming the cylindrical body jacket shown in Fig. 1, as there shown, with the seam 8 on the outside, then a top covering was sewed to the body jacket and then a bottomcovering partially sewed to the body jacket in such a way as to leave. a considerable opening. The jacket was. then turned inside out through the opening left at the bottom. The rope 6 was then passed through grommets in the top and bottom sections. Through the opening left between the jacket and the bottom covering, the filling material was inserted manually and pounded down manually with some sort of a pounding implement. After the filling operation, the opening through which the'filling was inserted was sewed by hand. This sewing operation was difiicult and laborious and produced an uneven unsightly seam between the top sectionand the body jacket. Moreover, the manual filling made it difficult to produce a tight packing of the filling material in the fender.

According to the method of this invention, the cylindrical body jacket shown in Fig. 1 is first made by a machine-sewing of the seam 8. This cylindrical jacket is then turned inside out to bring the seam on the inside of the jacket, as shown in Fig. 2. The top covering 3 and the bottom covering 2 are then completely sewed to the body jacket I by a machine-sewing operation. The rope 8 is then passed through the grommets l and 5, thus producing a complete machine-sewn container prior to inserting the filling material into the container.

To provide an opening for the insertion of the filling material which may be closed after the filling material is inserted, a'three-section metallic grommet is provided for the bottom covering 2 of the fender. Such grommet is shown in Figs. 9, 10, and 11. The body portion 9 of the lower section of the grommet rests against the under side of the bottom covering 2. The upwardly extending portions it and the upwardly extending prongs ll extend through the opening in the bottom covering. The opening formed in the lower section of the grommet is considerably larger than the diameter of the rope which passes therethrough, and the opening is enlarged at one place, as shown at l2 in Fig. 9, so that the rope may be moved into the enlarged opening at l2 and leave an opening in the grommet sufficiently large to permit the insertion of a filling tube presently to be described.

, The second or intermediate section of the grommet shown in Fig. 10 fits over the upwardly extending portions of the lower section and clamps the bottom covering between the two sections of the grommet. The opening in the second or intermediate section of the grommet is similar in size and shape to the opening in the lower section of the grommet.

The third or top section of the grommet is provided with a central opening l3 substantially equal to the diameter of the rope 6, and is also provided with small openings M to register with the prongs l l on the bottom section of the grommet. When the third or top section of the grommet is forced down into contact with the other sections, the prongs II which pass through the openings i l may be bent down to hold. the top section in position.

Before the top section of the grommet is secured in position, the fender is filled with filling material by the apparatus now to be described.

Referring to Fig. 12, the apparatus consists of a tube member i5 adapted to pass through the openings in the bottom and intermediate sections of the grommet. Secured to the upper end 'of the tube I5 is a funnel-shaped member It. The member I5 and the tube l5 secured thereto are supported by a bracket ll extending from a framework N3 of the filling machine.

The tube i5 is preferably provided on its inner surface with longitudinal corrugations 15, as shown in Fig. 14, to reduce swirling of the material in the tube.

Extending down through the funnel member l6 and through the tube member I5 is a bit or screw ii? for feeding the filling material from the funnel-shaped member l6 into the boat fender.

The bit or screw l9 extends below the lower end of the tube IS a sufficient distance to permit it to spread and pack the material in the fender. The diameter of the bit or screw preferably gradually decreases from the bottom to the top to facilitate the feeding of the filling material from the funnel-shaped member l6 through the tube l5 and into the fender. The edges of the spirals of the bit or screw which lie within the tube l5 are preferably knife-edged to reduce frictional heat and facilitate the feeding of the material through the tube l5.

For spreading the filling material outwardly from the bit or screw and for packing it solidly against the walls of the fender, the bit or screw is provided near its extremity with an expander 28, the shape of which is best shown in Fig. 13. This expander forces the filling material toward the outer walls of the fender and produces a tight packing which is impossible by a hand operation.

The bit or screw i9 is journaled for rotation in bearings 2! and 22 supported respectively by brackets 23 and 2 5 carried by the frame l8. The screw or bit is rotated through a pulley 25 fixed to its upper end through a. bolt 26 driven by a motor 21.

The funnel-shaped member it may be kept filled with filling material through a chute 28 leading from a supply bin 29.

During a filling operation the fender casing may be held by the attendant or supported on a yielding support which will permit the casing to move downward as it is filled. As the filling material is fed into the fender by the bit or screw 19 it will gradually be filled and tightly packed with the filling material. The filling operation will gradually force the fender down until the tube I5 emerges from the top thereof. The tightness of the pack may be regulated by the force with which the fender is supported and held during the filling operation.

When the filling operation is completed, the opening through which the filling was made is closed by the top or third section of the grommet which is secured in position in the manner hereinbefore described. It should be noted that the three-section grommet provides in effect an eye or opening adjustable in size, i. e., anopening which may be enlarged or contracted.

The ring buoy and its method of manufacture are shown in Figs. 15 to 20 inclusive. In Fig. 15, the upper ring covering 30, preferably of canvas, is shown sewed to lower ring covering 3| of similar material about the outer peripheries 32 of the rings. This sewing operation is done by machine. The ring coverings are then turned inside out, as shown in Fig. 16, to conceal the seam 32. The inner peripheries of the ring coverings are then also sewed by machine, as shown at 33 in Fig.- 17. The upper ring covering may be provided with a grommet 34 through which the ring buoy may be filled with granulated material by the machine shown in Fig. 12.

When filling a ring-like member such as a ring buoy the tube I5 of the machine is usually in serted first into one side of the ring buoy, as shown in Fig. '7, until that side is filled, and then is inserted through the same opening into the opposite side to complete the filling operation.

When the ring buoy has been filled and packed with the filling material, the opening through the grommet 34 is covered preferably by one of the beckets 35, as shown in Fig. 20. Asthere shown, the ring buoy is provided with four such beckets which carry a rope 36 extending through the several beckets 35.

It will be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the specific embodiment shown for purposes of illustration, as the inventive features may be variously embodied without departing from the invention.

It will also be understood that all of the features of the invention need not be used conjointly, as they may be used to advantage in' various'combinations as defined in the sub-joined claims.

We claim:

1. A boat fender comprising, in combination, a

jacket of covering material machine-sewed to form the side walls of the fender, top and bottom coverings both machine-sewed to the jacket, grommets in the top and bottom coverings, granulated material filling the jacket between the top and bottom coverings, and a rope passing through the filling material and through the grommets and substantially filling the openings in the grommets; one of the grommets comprising a plurality of sections, one of which is detachable and is provided with an opening substantially equal to the diameter of the rope and another section having a larger opening whereby when the first section is detached the filling material may be inserted through the larger opening of the other section while said rope is in place therein and retained in the fender by attaching the section having the smaller opening to the section having the larger opening.

2. A boat fender comprising acasing wholly machine-sewed, a grommet in each end thereof, a rope passing through the grommets and the casing and extending from each end thereof, and granulated filler material filling the casing, one of the grommets including detachable sections having difierent sized openings whereby when one section is detached, filler material may be inserted through the other section which is attached tothe casing and which has the larger opening while the rope occupies that opening and when attached the section having the smaller opening and the rope filling that opening will retain the filler material in the casing.

3. A boat fender comprising a casing, filler material within the casing, a grommet in the casing, and a rope extending through the grommet into the casing; the grommet comprising two detachable sections, one having an opening substantially equal to the cross-sectional .dimensions of the rope and the other having a larger opening, whereby when thesections are detached from each other the casing may be filled through the section having the larger opening while the rope occupies that opening and when attached the section having the smaller opening will retain' the filler material in the casing.

4. In a boat fender, the combination of a casing, a grommet therein, and a rope extending through the grommet; the grommet comprising two detachable sections, one having an opening substantially equal to the cross-sectional dimensions of the rope and the other having a larger opening, whereby when the sections are detached from each otherthe casing may be filled through the section having the larger opening while the rope occupies that opening and when attached the section having the smaller opening will retain the filler material in the casing.

filled with filler material, said second grommet member having an opening substantially equal to the diameter of the rope whereby the rope and said second grommet member close the opening in thefirst grommet member and retain the filler material in the casing.

6. The combination with a boat fender casing tightly packed with filler material and having a rope extending therethrough, of a grommet comprising three separate sections, two of which have annular portions formed to embrace and grip therebetween portions of said casing which define a hole therein, one of said two sections including a body portion adapted to extend through the other of said two sections and through said hole, the third of said sections including a body portion smaller in size than said hole and said first-mentioned body portion, and adapted to closely embracesaid rope and extend through the hole in said first-mentioned body portion.

7. A boat fender comprising a casing provided with an opening, metallic grommet means in said opening, and a rope extending through the grommet means into the casing, said grommet means including a plurality of parts, one of which is detachably related to the casing and movable with respect thereto to vary the size of the grommet opening.

RICHARD J. DRISCOLL. JOHN H. DRISCOLL. 

